Live Review: Calvin Harris at the Bowery Ballroom [4.28.08]

Among his many charms, Calvin Harris is quite direct. His songs don’t meander around before getting to their core message – no, he gets straight to the point. The pattern began to emerge as Calvin tore through his upbeat set at the Bowery Ballroom. In “Merry Making at My Place,” Calvin tells us just what is happening at his place. You guessed it – merrymaking, and drug taking. In “Girls,” he expounds upon exactly what kind of girls he likes: namely, Black girls, White girls, Asian girls, mixed raced girls, Spanish girls, Italian girls, French girls, Scandinavian girls. “Acceptable in the 80’s” lists the rewards bestowed upon those lucky enough to have been born in that magical decade: specifically love, and hugs. Dylan he aint, but hey, at least Calvin Harris is a straight shooter.

In addition to his propensity towards lyrical list-making, Calvin Harris also wants to make us dance. In fact, he’s determined. A bundle of energy on stage, Harris is backed by an able band, who also serve as hype men of sorts – when not playing guitar, one member runs from side to side of the stage, mugging to the crowd and taunting us to cheer louder. It’s a rainy Monday night, and the majority of the sold out crowd must be soggy and frizzy from the days’ downpour, probably still recovering from their wild weekends, or else trying to shake off the first bout of 9-to-5 exhaustion. It’s not an easy task, but Calvin Harris is dedicated, and he’ll jump around the stage as much as it takes until we’re jumping along, and then keep going.


Turns out, it doesn’t take much to get us to dancing, and Calvin’s smooth beats coupled with those catchy hooks are pretty much irrefutable. You’ll probably sing along too, as on “This is Industry”, or “Vegas”, where the hook, “When I go to Vegas!” becomes an immediate chant in the crowd. Though Calvin’s lyrics are pure irony - Are they? They are. I think? - his music is pure dancefloor. He may not have created disco, as his debut album title would lead us to believe, but he has created a unique hybrid combining commercial dance music’s cheese, pop music’s irresistibility, and punk rock’s detached attitude and brevity.

It’s a winning formula, to say the least.


[Photos by Mina K]

In and Out: Calvin Harris, Baby's First

“It’s all a bit weird,” remarks Calvin Harris regarding his experience so far in America. No further elaboration follows, as his face takes in the complete stranger before him called "6th Avenue." The tall 23-year-old small town Scottish boy is visibly overwhelmed by the newness of his current incarnation as the latest up-and-coming electro-rock darling. My idiosyncratic mind can’t help but picture a Christmas tree with ornaments that read:

Baby’s First Full-Length Album
Baby’s First Show In The States
Baby’s First Strenuous Promo Tour
Baby’s First Night Karaoke-ing With A Heap of Crazy Americans


This year Xtina and I spent the tainted holiday of September 11th at “Calvin-oke,” a karaoke party welcoming Calvin to New York City. About 25 music industry folks - nearly 20 bearing XX chromosomes - came together and belted out their favorite cheesy tunes in a private room at IBOP, a karaoke den near Korea-town. Calvin's label Almost Gold provided the scotch beverages, which I graciously accepted.

Calvin is currently living a dense schedule of interviews and promo appearances…it’s gotten to the point where the topic of sleep has crept into his Q&A sessions. From the pre-karaoke mixer at Almost Gold label headquarters through the first few songs sung at IBOP, he appears relatively shy and awkward amidst the other hyper-social party guests. But then we all get a carrot - “Let’s Get Blown” by Snoop Dogg kicks off, he’s passed the mic, and we witness the magic of Calvin Harris that has us all addicted to I Created Disco. He suddenly transforms into Charisma-bot, who is ten notches more outgoing than mild-mannered Calvin-bot. Of note, he's also the best singer in the group (I’d like to think I placed second or third).


Bear with me as I talk about myself for a moment. I sing in bands, showers, and on empty streets, but I’m not much of a karaoke aficionado. My folks own a karaoke machine, on which I've only been known to roar the occasional Metallica song to see how long it takes for my dad to clear the room in horror. (I love you, Dad.) That being said I entered this party with skepticism, but the fun and friendly party-goers soon had me gladly joining in on their song selections. Let it also be known that Xtina karaoke'd for the first time in Xtina history! Towards the end I coaxed Calvin into singing Shaggy’s “It Wasn’t Me” as a duet. Yes there is video footage, and no I am not legally allowed to publish it. Sad face.

Though last night's Mercury gig was sold out, littering Craigslist with unanswered wails, I shimmied my way in at the last minute. The show can be summed up quite simply: Calvin killed. He was engaged, the crowd was engaged, we were all dancing furiously together. Baby's Last Small NYC Show.

Hope you all enjoy this photo where I look way into my drunken syllable.

[All photos by Mina K, except the last one by Xtina]